Liam’s exam triumph over adversity

Liam Farrimond from Astley is celebrating fantastic GCSE results despite having to be taught at home due to suffering from Bilateral Pescavus Deformity on both his feet

Published:10:12Monday 31 August 2015

A WIGAN schoolboy who suffered a disability so severe he had to be home-taught for two years is on his way to college with remarkable results from his recent exams.

Liam Farrimond, from Astley, suffers from a condition that means his foot claws up, leaving him unable to walk.

During his early years at high school, Liam endured bullying and family say he received a lack of compassion for his illness.

She said: “He was finding it difficult to move around school and it got gradually worse. He was really struggling. When we took him into hospital they told us it was to do with the positioning of his feet. Because of this, he was leaning forwards putting a lot of pressure on them; he suffered a lot of stress fractures. We complained but nothing was done to help.”

The family credits a positive turnaround when Helen Phillips took over as head of Bedford High.

“She has been absolutely fantastic,” said Georgina. “She got us all the support he needed and sent work home. All the staff have been fantastic and have been wonderful, we can’t thank them enough.”

Liam worked hard throughout his GCSEs, despite having to have important surgery right in the middle of them. At the end of it, he came out with an A* in IT application, As in English and ICT and Bs in business, and science as well as a C in another science GCSE and maths.

“We are so unbelievably proud of him,” said Georgina. “He’s an absolute inspiration, not just to us but to other disabled children who may struggle.” Liam has set his heart on a career with the police, working as a criminal profiler and is off to Pendleton College to study psychology, sociology and IT.